If you enter the insurer’s email address in the “Email” field then subsequently when you click the Email “>” button you’ll be able to start a pre-addressed email. Similarly if you enter the company’s Internet website address in the “Web Address” field, when you click the “>” button next to it you’ll go directly to that website (though obviously this will be dependent on you also having a working Internet connection).

Additional Screens

You can activate a further 42 user-definable data fields (e.g. for storing contact names and numbers) by clicking (and thereby ticking) the Signpost button option “Additional screens / Show 42 additional search fields”. After this option has been ticked (i.e. made active) you access the extra screen via the black “Curve right” button. See Additional Mailshot Fields.

Renaming Insurers

To change all references for one insurer to another (e.g. from NU to AVIVA on all policies, products and claims) simply change the "Search name" and click the red "Save" button on the tool bar. The same applies to the insurer code, and you can even change both the name and the code at the same time - the system will still correctly update all associated policy, claim and product records.

Deleting & Replacing Insurers

To delete an insurer simply find its insurer record then click the yellow "Bin" button on the tool bar. Just in case it's linked to any existing policies, claims or products you'll be prompted to select a different insurer to replace it with.

This is particularly handy if, for example, two insurers are merging or if you happen to have accidentally created two different records for the same insurer. Simply find one, click the yellow "Bin" button to delete it, then select the other to replace or merge it with, as shown below.

Check Adviser Initials & Insurer Codes

In normal use the Durell system will automatically ensure all of your insurer records have unique identification codes. However sometimes after a data transfer from another system it might be possible for some of your records for insurers, advisers and leads to have missing or duplicate codes. To correct this use the "Signpost" button option "Check adviser initials & insurer codes". It is unlikely that you should ever require to do this more than once.

Other Signpost Button Options

For information on the other Signpost button options that are common to all address set records see Entering & Saving Clients.

GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANIES

The “Search name” and “Postal name” fields for an insurer may hold any values you choose to enter (e.g. “L&G" for Legal & General). So to prevent confusion when using Insurecom to access an insurer via the Internet, it is essential that the standard “ABI name” is also available. Hence FOR EVERY GENERAL INSURER YOU MUST SELECT THE APPROPRIATE ABI NAME, as shown below.

Risk Transfer

"Risk transfer" is where the insurer takes responsibility for its policyholders' payments, which are normally done via the "DD" method (see Payment Methods and Date), and where you only receive commission from the insurer and do not invoice the policyholder. So for such insurers you do not need a Client Bank Account to hold client money in trust, nor do you need to periodically transfer commission from it to your Office Bank Account. Use the "Insurer provides risk transfer" Signpost button option for each insurer record where you have such an agreement in place, and thereafter ensure that you always reconcile all monies received from or paid to this insurer via your Office Bank Account.

LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANIES

Durell uses codes to identify insurers in addition to their "Search names" so that individual users can choose what to call them (e.g. L&G, Legal & General, Legal and Gen, etc). In most instances the user can also choose what codes to use, EXCEPT when the insurer is an investment provider with whom they wish to use contract enquiry to receive automated on-line investment valuations, which will only work if the user has set-up the relevant insurer records with the agreed codes. See Set-up On-line Contract Enquiries for details of these codes, and the paragraph on "Renaming Insurers" at the start of this section of Help.

Policies Not Changed in Fact Find

Click and thereby tick the Signpost button option "Policies with this insurer may not be changed in fact find" if you wish to prevent your policy information being inadvertently and incorrectly updated by people referring to this data through fact finds.

Lautro Commission Uplift

If still relevant, you should enter the most common Lautro commission uplift that you get from each insurer.

You’ll then be able to use the “Signpost” option to pass this rate to all of this insurer’s products on the system, which is particularly useful after renegotiating your commission uplift rate.